Fuck. This was excellent. I know I’ve mentioned it before but ditching the socials for me was one way to get back into living in the real world. Reconnecting with eye contact and conversations. Particularly with the ones I love the most, as those relationships were suffering thanks to my head always being in my phone. To what end!
I don’t want to read about what’s going on in someone’s life I want to hear it with their voice or watch their face as they tell the story.
Thanks mate. It felt good to get off my chest to be honest. And I 100% agree with you RE getting off socials. I think there are AI and manipulative algorithms at play there too (probably more than we're even aware of) and stepping away from that is reclaiming some of our agency and our time. It makes me really excited to see. Particularly, as you say, when we replace it with real connection with people. I've got friends overseas, so sometimes that connection is via tech, but when we're choosing to be there for each other, to talk, to ask questions, it's so different to when we're just being shown something. 💚
I know that’s kind of off topic but I just feel so strongly about the phone addiction and I feel like it’s just compounding the more AI gets involved. We’re losing our ability to be human, in a way. Not completely as I’m not totally doom and gloom but all this automation removes the human-ness of life.
Love this! Love the rage and the passion! AI, at least in the way it is progressing at the moment, actually terrifies me. It also makes me really sad, mainly for the reasons you talk about in relation to creativity. I have just listened to a great podcast with Jonathon Haidt about his new book, "The Anxious Generation". The impact of technology (not just social media) on children is terrible. It is literally rewiring their brains. AI may be able to benefit some, but we need to acknowledge that it comes with a lot of negative consequences as well. Humans have created artificial intelligence but there is a huge difference between intelligence and wisdom. Thank you for the human generated wisdom you share with us all xx
There was definitely rage and passion! 😆 I haven't read Jonathan's new book but I have seen a lot of people mention it and think I'll give it a go. I know it will worry me and probably make me angry, but that's not always a bad place to make change from.
And I think Gill made a really good point above, about the positive uses of some of the AI programs rolling out now, which I completely agree with. AI needs to be a tool we use to open the world up, to empower, but so many people aren't using it for those reasons. It's so hard to know how to approach it and I'm glad I can discuss it here, with this crew. 💚
High-Fives Brooke and thank you for voicing your thoughts on AI. It’s been on my mind for a long time too and I see all kinds of pitfalls - everywhere- and it terrifies me.
Technology is an important tool and a tool only. It is a machine not to replace the needs of being a human: to feel, to create, to learn, to be bored, to wonder, to question, to interact in real life, to explore, to make mistakes, to grow mentally, to grow emotionally, to grow socially, to grow spiritually, to grieve, to be angry, to be full of joy, to LOVE, to cry, work things out, to be IMPERFECT and to evolve for the better. No machine can do this for us, ever.
We can’t be so afraid of our humanness that we defer all of our freedom and free will to something that is actually devoid of life- soulless. Technology is a machine and a machine only.
I love the way you've phrased this Angie — much more succinctly than I did. When used as a tool, in good faith, I can absolutely see the benefits *some* of this new tech offers. Empowerment, accessibility, leveling the playing field. But I also know that, on the whole, humans take things to extremes. We push and question and dig and use tools for purposes beyond the good. That's what worries me. And there is nothing that tech billionaires have done in the last 20 years that makes me think they'll change now.
Plus, there are so many people already using AI in place of creativity, and I don't see how we can unscramble that egg. I guess us real-life flesh and blood humans just need to keep creating things with soul and hope that it breaks through.
Ah the rage! I think I feel it as the resistance to the pace of change we are being asked to accept. I'm a bit less ragey about AI language models mostly because they have been a gift of freedom for my kids - I have 3 dyslexic kiddos. The mechanics of writing is never going to be their strength but they have super ideas. So much of our system requires a communication of ideas via words, something they could only partake in with hours and hours of painful labour. They can now write their own ideas without worrying about spelling and grammar and ask GTP to rephrase it. It does a remarkable job of making their ideas readable without the pain and sticks very close to what they have written. I've other worries, the impact of AI on education and developing brains, energy consumption of the systems, fake news and misleading content! Just another thing for our poor addled brains to deal with! As you say, you have skin in the game so I am sending you a hug and looking forward to visiting your book store :) xo
Thanks so much for this comment Gill, I appreciate you taking the time! I know I’ve got big, experience-based blind spots with this stuff so to get more insight into some of the other *super positive* ways this tech is being used to open the world up is helpful and inspiring really. In an ideal world, maybe this is what all of the tech would be used for - enabling and empowering us - and that looks different for everyone. Like you, I worry about the implications for education, our ability to think critically and spot misinformation, misuse of the data scraped by these programs… it’s an ongoing list, but there’s obvious, massive benefits too if we’re able to use the tech in constructive ways. Lots to think on, thanks so much again. I really appreciate you. 💚
I agree Cathy — if we can somehow use AI to help the environment, to empower our kids, to open up possibilities to people who would otherwise not have them, I'm in favour of using it as a tool. But I don't have a lot of faith in the creators of this tech. As you say, they've designed screens and apps and devices that are mesmerising and addictive, and they've profited from it enormously. I don't think they're going to suddenly use AI for the greater good, no matter what they say.
It's such a juicy, fascinating, infuriating topic isn't it? So glad I can write about it here and have such good conversations. 💚
I found this such a fascinating read. I only yesterday learnt about the AI models that have a huge following online. Slightly off topic but I listened to a radio show the other day that was speaking about convenience and how things are gradually becoming more convenient in our lives but to the detriment of our mental health. It is seen as an inconvenience when we need to interact with another human being, however, those passing pleasantries if someone holds the door open for you instead of using electric doors or you speak to someone at a checkout can be enough to give your mental health a boost. So much can be done online now without the need to interact with anyone, they have even found that there is a rise in anxiety within the younger generation when they have to speak to someone on the phone. I am having my own little rebellion against the way we’re being encouraged to live. I was at a restaurant the other day and there was the option to pay for your meal on your phone from the table or go up to the bar to pay. My friend paid on her phone whilst I went to the bar and had a little chat with the server at the same time. My order was completed a few minutes quicker in the process too.
I hear you Laura! I understand our desire for a frictionless life, but I don't think it's going to serve us well in the long-term. We need to exist in the world. It's how we make meaning of it. 💚
Truer words, Brooke. There’s a lot of AI already baked into our day-to-day life. My antidote is to interact with people wherever possible, the lady sitting in front of us at a Bangarra production this week, the lady supervising the self-checkout at 7:30am today because it wasn’t busy and we chat every week, the barista who makes my coffee after said grocery shopping, because we chat too. I look for those micro moments of connection with people and they provide me with a sense of love and joy.
Those micro-moments are so important. I'm an introvert and feel fairly awkward in a lot of social settings, but even those brief connections are enough to remind me of how closely linked we all are to each other and that awkwardness is okay!
I may be naiive, but I don't think we have reasons to fear AI taking over creativity. We humans have two things that AI doesn't have: emotions and a soul. Which makes us able to create beyond what a computer will ever be able to (at least I hope so, I don't want to live in a world where AI takes over everything). Reading texts or seeing "paintings" that are AI generated, makes me cringe, there's something missing: the human aspect. I hope that people will always choose to buy art and books produced by real human beings.
Argh! I wrote a whole reply to this a few days ago and only just realised it never posted. So sorry Elisabeth! My main concern is that it's already happening. My books have been stolen by AI programs, along with millions of others, so they not only have access to the information authors write, but the way we write it too. And once AI learns how to weave words that elicit emotion, the average person won't know the difference. On Facebook there are already so many AI-generated images (of harmless enough things like kids playing, or tiny homes) that are obviously AI-generated to my eye, but have thousands of comments from people saying how beautiful they are, or how much they'd love to live there. It freaks me out that there are so many people who already can't tell the difference. But like you say, if we keep prioritising things made by humans, maybe we will outweigh the AI-generated stuff. I hope so anyway!
Oh no, I didn't know that. Thanks for informing me. This is a tragedy, and we must not let it go further. But what CAN we actually do, as consumers? How can we protest against this going further, how can we say "no" to AI?
The reason I love it is that AI is not all “people” (namely Meta or whoever is fanning the AI flames with even bigger $$ signs in front of them) purport it to be.
How can we possibly know the benefits when it’s so new? How can we possibly know the negatives as well?
Just catching up on my email and your posts and boy oh boy, this one was a humdinger! I love it. I am a fellow writer and yarn dyer/knitwear designer and the idea of AI taking over artistic contributions to the world seems so counterintuitive to the reason they exist in the first place. I have had this conversation with my oldest son, who is a musician just about to graduate from college, and he seems almost resigned to the fact that this sort of thing will continue to happen. I try to convey to him that nothing need be inevitable if enough of us push back and stand together in what we believe is good and right. Like you, I feel angry by these developments, but also it saddens me that there are those in the world who believe they have the power to decide what actions and jobs bring value to lives and which do not, to the point that they get to decide what should or should not be automated. I am guessing these same people have never once felt the contentment of creating a beautiful handmade blanket or writing a soul-filled poem, or even lived long enough in the moment to experience the joy of hanging clean laundry on the clothesline while a soft breeze blows through the garden. There are so few true pleasures left in the world these days, it is a shame those that promote this sort of technology cannot slow down long enough to see their value. Perhaps if they did, they would realize survival is not just about convenience and easy living. Some of the hardest yet simple things we do are also some of the most important contributions to our emotional and mental survival.
I just finished the novella “death of an author” by Aidan machine. It is an AI generated book and one of the most interesting parts was the “author” aka the person who did all the AI programming and picked the best (whose name has completely escaped me) explaining how actually human the process was to get a good book.
I wondered if actually writing most of it would have been easier.
Fuck. This was excellent. I know I’ve mentioned it before but ditching the socials for me was one way to get back into living in the real world. Reconnecting with eye contact and conversations. Particularly with the ones I love the most, as those relationships were suffering thanks to my head always being in my phone. To what end!
I don’t want to read about what’s going on in someone’s life I want to hear it with their voice or watch their face as they tell the story.
Thanks mate. It felt good to get off my chest to be honest. And I 100% agree with you RE getting off socials. I think there are AI and manipulative algorithms at play there too (probably more than we're even aware of) and stepping away from that is reclaiming some of our agency and our time. It makes me really excited to see. Particularly, as you say, when we replace it with real connection with people. I've got friends overseas, so sometimes that connection is via tech, but when we're choosing to be there for each other, to talk, to ask questions, it's so different to when we're just being shown something. 💚
I know that’s kind of off topic but I just feel so strongly about the phone addiction and I feel like it’s just compounding the more AI gets involved. We’re losing our ability to be human, in a way. Not completely as I’m not totally doom and gloom but all this automation removes the human-ness of life.
Love this! Love the rage and the passion! AI, at least in the way it is progressing at the moment, actually terrifies me. It also makes me really sad, mainly for the reasons you talk about in relation to creativity. I have just listened to a great podcast with Jonathon Haidt about his new book, "The Anxious Generation". The impact of technology (not just social media) on children is terrible. It is literally rewiring their brains. AI may be able to benefit some, but we need to acknowledge that it comes with a lot of negative consequences as well. Humans have created artificial intelligence but there is a huge difference between intelligence and wisdom. Thank you for the human generated wisdom you share with us all xx
There was definitely rage and passion! 😆 I haven't read Jonathan's new book but I have seen a lot of people mention it and think I'll give it a go. I know it will worry me and probably make me angry, but that's not always a bad place to make change from.
And I think Gill made a really good point above, about the positive uses of some of the AI programs rolling out now, which I completely agree with. AI needs to be a tool we use to open the world up, to empower, but so many people aren't using it for those reasons. It's so hard to know how to approach it and I'm glad I can discuss it here, with this crew. 💚
High-Fives Brooke and thank you for voicing your thoughts on AI. It’s been on my mind for a long time too and I see all kinds of pitfalls - everywhere- and it terrifies me.
Technology is an important tool and a tool only. It is a machine not to replace the needs of being a human: to feel, to create, to learn, to be bored, to wonder, to question, to interact in real life, to explore, to make mistakes, to grow mentally, to grow emotionally, to grow socially, to grow spiritually, to grieve, to be angry, to be full of joy, to LOVE, to cry, work things out, to be IMPERFECT and to evolve for the better. No machine can do this for us, ever.
We can’t be so afraid of our humanness that we defer all of our freedom and free will to something that is actually devoid of life- soulless. Technology is a machine and a machine only.
With human love-
Angie
I love the way you've phrased this Angie — much more succinctly than I did. When used as a tool, in good faith, I can absolutely see the benefits *some* of this new tech offers. Empowerment, accessibility, leveling the playing field. But I also know that, on the whole, humans take things to extremes. We push and question and dig and use tools for purposes beyond the good. That's what worries me. And there is nothing that tech billionaires have done in the last 20 years that makes me think they'll change now.
Plus, there are so many people already using AI in place of creativity, and I don't see how we can unscramble that egg. I guess us real-life flesh and blood humans just need to keep creating things with soul and hope that it breaks through.
Sending that human love back to you 💚
Ah the rage! I think I feel it as the resistance to the pace of change we are being asked to accept. I'm a bit less ragey about AI language models mostly because they have been a gift of freedom for my kids - I have 3 dyslexic kiddos. The mechanics of writing is never going to be their strength but they have super ideas. So much of our system requires a communication of ideas via words, something they could only partake in with hours and hours of painful labour. They can now write their own ideas without worrying about spelling and grammar and ask GTP to rephrase it. It does a remarkable job of making their ideas readable without the pain and sticks very close to what they have written. I've other worries, the impact of AI on education and developing brains, energy consumption of the systems, fake news and misleading content! Just another thing for our poor addled brains to deal with! As you say, you have skin in the game so I am sending you a hug and looking forward to visiting your book store :) xo
Thanks so much for this comment Gill, I appreciate you taking the time! I know I’ve got big, experience-based blind spots with this stuff so to get more insight into some of the other *super positive* ways this tech is being used to open the world up is helpful and inspiring really. In an ideal world, maybe this is what all of the tech would be used for - enabling and empowering us - and that looks different for everyone. Like you, I worry about the implications for education, our ability to think critically and spot misinformation, misuse of the data scraped by these programs… it’s an ongoing list, but there’s obvious, massive benefits too if we’re able to use the tech in constructive ways. Lots to think on, thanks so much again. I really appreciate you. 💚
Screens and technology have a mesmerising effect on children and I shudder at the thought of having to rely more on using them to live life.
If AI can save our planet and nurture our children’s future’s to live a fulfilling life then I’m all for it.
I agree Cathy — if we can somehow use AI to help the environment, to empower our kids, to open up possibilities to people who would otherwise not have them, I'm in favour of using it as a tool. But I don't have a lot of faith in the creators of this tech. As you say, they've designed screens and apps and devices that are mesmerising and addictive, and they've profited from it enormously. I don't think they're going to suddenly use AI for the greater good, no matter what they say.
It's such a juicy, fascinating, infuriating topic isn't it? So glad I can write about it here and have such good conversations. 💚
I found this such a fascinating read. I only yesterday learnt about the AI models that have a huge following online. Slightly off topic but I listened to a radio show the other day that was speaking about convenience and how things are gradually becoming more convenient in our lives but to the detriment of our mental health. It is seen as an inconvenience when we need to interact with another human being, however, those passing pleasantries if someone holds the door open for you instead of using electric doors or you speak to someone at a checkout can be enough to give your mental health a boost. So much can be done online now without the need to interact with anyone, they have even found that there is a rise in anxiety within the younger generation when they have to speak to someone on the phone. I am having my own little rebellion against the way we’re being encouraged to live. I was at a restaurant the other day and there was the option to pay for your meal on your phone from the table or go up to the bar to pay. My friend paid on her phone whilst I went to the bar and had a little chat with the server at the same time. My order was completed a few minutes quicker in the process too.
I hear you Laura! I understand our desire for a frictionless life, but I don't think it's going to serve us well in the long-term. We need to exist in the world. It's how we make meaning of it. 💚
Truer words, Brooke. There’s a lot of AI already baked into our day-to-day life. My antidote is to interact with people wherever possible, the lady sitting in front of us at a Bangarra production this week, the lady supervising the self-checkout at 7:30am today because it wasn’t busy and we chat every week, the barista who makes my coffee after said grocery shopping, because we chat too. I look for those micro moments of connection with people and they provide me with a sense of love and joy.
Those micro-moments are so important. I'm an introvert and feel fairly awkward in a lot of social settings, but even those brief connections are enough to remind me of how closely linked we all are to each other and that awkwardness is okay!
That read like an act of rebellion and I loved it!
It felt like one as I wrote it! 💚
That was beautiful. ❤️
Thanks Nishant! I appreciate that a lot.
I may be naiive, but I don't think we have reasons to fear AI taking over creativity. We humans have two things that AI doesn't have: emotions and a soul. Which makes us able to create beyond what a computer will ever be able to (at least I hope so, I don't want to live in a world where AI takes over everything). Reading texts or seeing "paintings" that are AI generated, makes me cringe, there's something missing: the human aspect. I hope that people will always choose to buy art and books produced by real human beings.
Argh! I wrote a whole reply to this a few days ago and only just realised it never posted. So sorry Elisabeth! My main concern is that it's already happening. My books have been stolen by AI programs, along with millions of others, so they not only have access to the information authors write, but the way we write it too. And once AI learns how to weave words that elicit emotion, the average person won't know the difference. On Facebook there are already so many AI-generated images (of harmless enough things like kids playing, or tiny homes) that are obviously AI-generated to my eye, but have thousands of comments from people saying how beautiful they are, or how much they'd love to live there. It freaks me out that there are so many people who already can't tell the difference. But like you say, if we keep prioritising things made by humans, maybe we will outweigh the AI-generated stuff. I hope so anyway!
Oh no, I didn't know that. Thanks for informing me. This is a tragedy, and we must not let it go further. But what CAN we actually do, as consumers? How can we protest against this going further, how can we say "no" to AI?
Love - love - love this ❤️
The reason I love it is that AI is not all “people” (namely Meta or whoever is fanning the AI flames with even bigger $$ signs in front of them) purport it to be.
How can we possibly know the benefits when it’s so new? How can we possibly know the negatives as well?
Thanks for writing about this Brooke xx
Just catching up on my email and your posts and boy oh boy, this one was a humdinger! I love it. I am a fellow writer and yarn dyer/knitwear designer and the idea of AI taking over artistic contributions to the world seems so counterintuitive to the reason they exist in the first place. I have had this conversation with my oldest son, who is a musician just about to graduate from college, and he seems almost resigned to the fact that this sort of thing will continue to happen. I try to convey to him that nothing need be inevitable if enough of us push back and stand together in what we believe is good and right. Like you, I feel angry by these developments, but also it saddens me that there are those in the world who believe they have the power to decide what actions and jobs bring value to lives and which do not, to the point that they get to decide what should or should not be automated. I am guessing these same people have never once felt the contentment of creating a beautiful handmade blanket or writing a soul-filled poem, or even lived long enough in the moment to experience the joy of hanging clean laundry on the clothesline while a soft breeze blows through the garden. There are so few true pleasures left in the world these days, it is a shame those that promote this sort of technology cannot slow down long enough to see their value. Perhaps if they did, they would realize survival is not just about convenience and easy living. Some of the hardest yet simple things we do are also some of the most important contributions to our emotional and mental survival.
I just finished the novella “death of an author” by Aidan machine. It is an AI generated book and one of the most interesting parts was the “author” aka the person who did all the AI programming and picked the best (whose name has completely escaped me) explaining how actually human the process was to get a good book.
I wondered if actually writing most of it would have been easier.
It is I retesting times . . .
From another human - this to prove it
Absolutely spot on! Yes, Brooke, we should be worried....